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Grand Canyon rafting tips
drdoak
Registered Users Posts: 64 Big grins
It's quite a ways off, but I'm hopefully taking an 8 day rafting trip through the Canyon in May '08. As such, I'm looking for tips on gear or shooting. Insofar as gear goes, anything about bags, waterproofing, filters, batteries (and keeping them charged), storage, anything that might be helpful. I get pretty limited space.
I've got a couple of galleries from my last few Arizona trips, so any suggestions on those (or not) will help me not waste the millions of opportunities the canyon will afford me.
http://cml.smugmug.com/gallery/3372886
http://cml.smugmug.com/gallery/3380341
http://cml.smugmug.com/gallery/3382035
Right now I'm using a: Digital Rebel XT, 18-75mm lens, 75-300mm lens, Manfrotto 190XPROB, some low end Manfrotto ball head, two batteries, 2 2GB Kingston super duper CF cards.
Anything at all will be helpful, even if it's about the non-photography parts of the trip!
I've got a couple of galleries from my last few Arizona trips, so any suggestions on those (or not) will help me not waste the millions of opportunities the canyon will afford me.
http://cml.smugmug.com/gallery/3372886
http://cml.smugmug.com/gallery/3380341
http://cml.smugmug.com/gallery/3382035
Right now I'm using a: Digital Rebel XT, 18-75mm lens, 75-300mm lens, Manfrotto 190XPROB, some low end Manfrotto ball head, two batteries, 2 2GB Kingston super duper CF cards.
Anything at all will be helpful, even if it's about the non-photography parts of the trip!
...and the river flows through our souls...
www.chrislindbergphotography.com
www.chrislindbergphotography.com
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If you are interested in any new camera purchases for the trip - here are some great water safe ideas:http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/oima_underwater.asp
http://www.jonathanswinton.com
http://www.swintoncounseling.com
Two main choices for transport, Pelican or Watershed. Pelican's, as you probably know, are hard cases with pluck foam. Good stuff. Harder to open and close in a hurry. Seals can fail in high pressure situations. (i.e., pinning or extra dynamic hole surfing.) Take extra o-rings and silicone lubricant.
Watersheds, IMHO, are the way to go. Quick and easy to open or seal. Seal it right and it will be dryer than Pelicans. You'll have to make up your own padding. (I glued minicell pads into compartments and carved the whole thing to fit in my bags.) I've flipped twice now with my good cameras and lens on board. Both times Watershed did its job. One extra important hint is the need to periodically use 303 on the Watershed seals.
I envy you. My permit is set for March 1, 2011!
Are you going commercial or private?
TAKE MORE MEMORY!!!!!!
Get a polarizer.
Don't forget to use fill in flash for portraits, even in the hot sun.
For whitewater action shots, elevation and long lens are your friends. Don't forget to shoot a bunch at slow shutter speed panned or not panned. In the inner gorge do a couple of nights of star trails siloetting the canyon. (I've been thinking about this!)
I use a 12 v. gell motorcycle battery with inverter for remote charging. If you're careful with discharge, it should last you about 6000 exposures. (Take more memory!!!)
If you have any general river questions I'll be glad to try to help.
In May, your best clothes would probably be white surgical scrubs. (Bleach the hell out of the blues.) Take lots of hand lotion/salve use daily on hands and feet! 2 spare pairs of sunglasses!!! per person! BIG hat!
Sawyer
EDIT:
A good starting point for basic Grand Canyon river running.
http://www.rrfw.org/RaftingGrandCanyon/Main_Page
So I use, and recommend a Seattle Sports HydroVenture Super Lattitde drybag. I put my entire Tamrac bag, with gear inside this one. This bag is a roll-down type bag and is perfect for my application. I am very careful when removing my camera, and of course when using the camera. No paddling allowed, and rough water is a no-no. This bag keeps everything dry without a problem.
The Watershed mentioned above has a heavy, heavy duty 'ziploc' feature that seals out water completely in addition to rolling down the top.
The difference in cost is about $100, the Watershed being the more expensive. It is also guaranteed to be waterproof and 'approved' for electronic gear. This is the bag to use if you know you and your gear will get wet, dunked and submersed. So, if you are sure your gear will be exposed to alot of water (say whitewater rafting), Watershed is the way to go. If you want splash and weather exposure protection, the bag above is recommended.
I'm going commercial with AZRA. Kind of a "getting aquainted" 8 day motor trip. Can't quite swing the 14 day oar trips just yet.
I'm all set on the circ-polarizer for both lenses. Learned that lesson in Sedona a couple of years ago. Fill flash is something I need a lot more practice on though! I've only experimented with it thus far.
I've also been thinking about starlight and moonlight photography out there. So far, I had a full moon on the trip I just wanted to look at stars (didn't think to take pictures of them) and then had no moon on the trip I wanted to try some moonlight photography
I've managed to kill a pair of Oakleys every AZ trip I've taken so far... So you'd better believe I'll be taking more than one pair!
Only eight more months to go.. Sigh...
Any tips for getting to Flagstaff? Flights into and out of there seem to REALLY stink time wise (at least, coming from CMH through PHX).
One last question for now: I have a Canon TX-1 that I use for taking videos. Be REALLY neat to take some video while going through a rapid. Am I going to be more than occupied just holding on? Is there a good way to protect it and still shoot?
Gotcha on the memory supply. I'll get more cards and some sort of backup HDD type thing I imagine (unless I should rethink that part).
www.chrislindbergphotography.com